Proper nutrition - the basic precepts of healthy food

Proper balanced diet is a diet that includes a variety of foods from all food groups. Proper nutrition is also intended to limit the consumption of certain foods: saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, refined sugar, salt and alcohol. A balanced diet should provide the body with all the nutrients needed for health and life.

Proper nutrition and calories

A balanced diet should take into account the energy needs of your body, then it estb the required amount of calories, so it is important to watch portion sizes. To obtain the maximum and minimum nutrient calories Select high nutrient density. These products contain a lot of vitamins and minerals and relatively few calories, include fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meat and fish, as well as whole grains and legumes. Foods with a low density of nutrients are low in vitamins, but a lot of calories. This sweet (candy), soft drinks, donuts, pastries, cakes, and fast food.

Proper nutrition and food groups

There are seven basic food groups, which are necessary for normal functioning of the person. But to use products from different groups should be in the right proportion, and the proportion depends on the age and sex of the person. So, and a boy of nine and forty-year woman in need of the same products, but in different proportions.

Therefore, it is important to control portion size and observe the correct proportions of consumption of foods from different food groups. Nutritionists recommend to keep a food diary and write in it all that you eat, to the smallest detail. Thus, to the seven major food groups include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, vitamins, fiber and liquid.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates - the most important source of energy. They contain the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. All carbohydrates ratio of hydrogen atoms to oxygen atoms is 2: 1 (in the water).

Most carbohydrates in our body flows in the form of starch. It is found in potatoes, rice, spaghetti, yams, bread and cereals. Our digestive system converts the starch into a different form of carbohydrates - glucose Glucose: The energy source . Glucose from the bloodstream spreads throughout the body and provides the necessary energy tissue. Glucose contained in food is absorbed immediately, without processing. Carbohydrates can be ingested in the form of sucrose (sugar). Sucrose and glucose are sugars, but sucrose molecules too large to be spread through the bloodstream, so digestive system converts sucrose into glucose. Unused glucose is "stored"

in the body as fat. Approximately forty-seven per cent of total carbohydrates consumed goes to meet the energy needs of the body.

Proteins

Protein is needed by the body for growth and repair. Natural sources of protein - meat, fish, eggs, beans and soy. Proteins contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sometimes sulfur. Protein molecules are very large, so they can not enter the bloodstream directly. In the body, the protein is converted to the amino acids of which there are more than twenty kinds, and possibly reverse conversion - from an amino acid in the protein. The amino acids enter the cells of the blood. The proteins may also serve as a source of energy. The excess amino acids excreted nitrogen is released in the form of urea - chemical substances in the liver. Urea, together with other waste products excreted in the urine.

Fats

As carbohydrates, fats contain the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, as well as fat-soluble vitamins. Dietary fat sources - dairy products, particularly cheese, chocolate and so on. Fats used as a source of energy; they also deposited under the skin and protect against the cold. I do not think that completely abandoning fat, you keep a perfect figure. Excessive consumption of carbohydrates and proteins of them is converted to fat and you will still gain weight. Therefore, the correct balanced diet is so important for both health and beauty.

Vitamins

• Vitamins are essential for the normal functioning of organs and tissues, but only in small quantities. Vitamins are contained in liver, carrots, fruits and vegetables.
• Vitamin A: essential for good vision and eye health.
• Vitamin B: The group includes about a dozen different vitamins, each of which performs its function.
• Vitamin C: required for restoration of body tissues.
• Vitamin D: is produced in the skin by the action of sunlight is needed for calcium absorption.
• Vitamin E: essential for reproductive health.
• Vitamins help to preserve the beauty and youthfulness of the skin, bone health, and the need for red blood cell formation.

Minerals

Minerals are also needed in a small amount, but the body's need for minerals higher than requirements for vitamins. Minerals found in red meat, fruits and vegetables.

• Iron: is necessary for the formation of hemoglobin Hemoglobin: worse - low or high? .
• Calcium is essential for healthy teeth, bones and muscles.
• Sodium: required for the functioning of cells, particularly nerve cells.
• Iodine: essential for thyroxine hormone Thyroxine - the main thyroid hormone .

Cellulose

Our body can not produce or digest cellulose - a carbohydrate used by plants for the formation of cell walls. The lack or deficiency in the diet products containing fiber, leads to problems colorectal intestine. The muscles of the digestive system mix food with digestive juices and move it through the intestines (peristalsis), but without the fiber, they can not properly perform this function. Sources of fiber - cereals, seeds, leafy vegetables.

The latter group includes the liquid, that is, any liquid food. We lose a lot of water during the day, and it is important to replenish the body of water to avoid dehydration.